Where the heart is
by roadrunner74
Summary: What does it take for someone to realize that Home, truly is, where the heart is. Chapter 3 now up!
1. Chapter 1

_**Where the Heart Is**_

Summary: what does it take for someone to realize that Home, truly is where the heart is.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. This was written for the soul purpose of my entertainment. I lay no claim on the characters of _Speed_ _Racer, _if you recognize a character it does not belong to me. I can only claim the characters my mind makes up.

Note: for the time being my inspiration for a Task to Guard has left me; and in its place, this story is forming. Hopefully this one doesn't go as well. So love it or hate it, I want reviews to let me know if I should finish this.

Note 2:My inspiration to this story comes from my sister watching a Christmas in July movie marathon. So be warned in takes place around Christmas time, even if it is months too early. This is set in the classic series plot, due to the fact that Rex didn't die; however if you could get past that point you could set it in the movieverse. The story is also placed in the here and how due to mentioning of technology that wasn't available in the 1960s.

* * *

Alexander Recar stood on the balcony of his hotel suite, in the cool of the evening, and looked up into the star-studded sky. The full moon shown like a soft night light among the multitude of stars; and a gentle breeze was blowing, ruffling his hair.

He felt a pair of well-toned, but definitely female, arms come around his waist; alerting him to the presence he knew would be there eventually. Turning around, his eyes met the deep blue gaze of his fellow agent named Tabitha, aka the Cat. The two of them had been assigned together since his first day at ISP, and had grown much closer in recent years.

Looking her over, Alexander took in her appearance; Tabitha was still wearing her black dress from this evenings banquet for the teams after the race; her long black hair had been let down, and fell in prefect spiral curls to her mid-back.

The fact that her eyes were still blue showed she had yet to take out her contact lens. Alexander was one of the few people that knew Tabitha's eyes were actually green; and that she wore the contacts, like he wore his mask, to help protect her identity from the many enemies they had made over the years.

"It was a tough race today." Tabitha commented, as she moved to stand beside him at the railing of the balcony. Her Spanish accent, which she only used in private, caused the words to roll in a way that Alex found to be soothing after a long race;

He nodded. "A very tough race;" Alexander replied, his voice had risen in pitch; and while still deep wasn't quite as deep as Racer X's voice. "A bit of a fight at the end."

"When during the race wasn't there a fight? Because I happened to see one at the start, during, _and_ at the end" The low chuckle reached his ears, as Tabitha made a circling motion with her right hand for emphasis. "There were a lot of cheaters in the field this time. And a high casualty count this time." Her tone had grown serious as it often did when discussing the number of fixers and criminals that had infiltrated the WRL and was actually protected by the fact that they had the legitimate fronts of being major players in the business end of racing.

"That's why it's important to never take a win for granted." The dark-haired man said as he turned around, letting wind hit his face once again

"True. But you didn't have to do it all yourself. Speed took four of them out when they decided to take him on. You almost got caught in the aftermath of it too, to be honest. And I heard that Trixie got a bit of the action too, in a fight between her and Axe Wheeler's girlfriend, who tried to insult Speed."

A smile crept to his lips at the thought of Trixie taking on Axe Wheeler's girlfriend; since the woman was known to be more than capable of handling herself in a fight. Speed was lucky to have found a girl like that. That was something else that he and Speed had in common; because Tabitha never managed to stay out of danger either. However, she had recently become more willing to follow his orders about not taking unnecessary risks; but they still had disagreements as to what the definition was of unnecessary.

Seeing his smile, Tabitha decides to broach the subject that she had on her mind.

"Christmas is two weeks away," She began quietly knowing too well what the reaction was going to be to the phrase.

Alexander knew where she was heading on this, and it wasn't a road he wanted to go down. As he let out a sigh he said, "We've had this discussion before, Tabitha."

"I know that. It's just that, I had hoped you had changed your mind. And we could have this discussion _again_."

"But you don't understand just how bad the whole idea even is! It is a disaster just waiting to happen; and I'm talking the type of disaster that only cockroaches survive."

"I understand plenty. I just happen to firmly believe that you're wrong; because I think you shouldn't miss the chance to spend some time with your family. The Chief just thinks you shouldn't miss this chance to spend some time with your family. And he has been very generous with his offer this year." Tabitha contradicted, and with a sidelong glint of humor added: "Besides that, cockroaches are not as resilient as what you think; so it might not be the disaster you think it would be."

"Oh very funny," he muttered. "The Chief is also the man that believes that soup is a sold object. You are only arguing with me about this because you want to meet my family."

"Can you blame a girl for trying? After all I've heard about them, and watching Speed race, it's only natural for me to want to meet my in-laws."

While to the entire world, Racer X doesn't seem to have any connections or family at all. Alexander and Tabitha Recar had been married for almost three years now. Their marriage was a direct violation of ISP policy, but it was a policy that had been overlooked. Due to the fact that because of the work the two of them do, it was easy to see that one of the few things that keep them from completely losing their humanity was the love and support they got from each other. And no one at ISP had the nerve to try to deny them that small part of normal human relationship.

Looking back at his wife, he saw that she had a look in her eyes that he almost had to look away from. It was a rare talent of his wife's that her eyes were hypnotic. To those who weren't accustomed to it she could establish almost complete control; he had fallen into her trap a few times before she had taught him to counter it. And even though he was able to resist her contact covered eyes; Alex knew that, if she had taken out her contacts, he would be unable to hold his resolve.

He knew what her next statement would be asking him why he turned down the Chief's offers, both in the past and the current one, because of the number of times they had had this discussion.

He never had been able to give her an answer that she actually believed; due to the fact that she was a human polygraph, and is able to tell immediately if someone was lying to her. It didn't help that he didn't even believe them himself. So before she could even say it he decided to take control over the situation, and actually tell her the truth as he believed it.

"You've asked me before: why I do this to myself. I do it because I still don't feel like enough to go home yet. And I can't go back until I feel like I've done enough; that I _am_ enough."

"But what if you never feel like enough? Do you really want to miss out on life with your family, due to you chasing something that maybe is impossible to achieve?" Tabitha asked him quietly. "You can't live your life trying to uphold such incredible expectations on yourself."

"I know that, believe me when I say I know, all to well. But I am still not ready to go back to my family, to show them exactly what I have become."

"What will make you ready? What will that take? Because if you ask me, there is nothing wrong with what you have become; In fact, I believe that if you could just allow yourself to see all that you've done, everything you've accomplished, the man that you are. Then I think you would see, that you should be proud of who you are, Alexander; and that if you let your family know about the man you are, then they would be justifiably proud of you too."

Alexander thought about what she had said and had almost started to argue with her; but Tabitha continued before he even got the chance.

"I think you really need to reconsider your definition of what 'enough' is. Enough is not something that you can chase; and hope, that one morning you will wake up and suddenly you are enough. Life doesn't work that way, Alex. You have to know what your definition of enough is; so that you know that when you are enough. And in order to be enough, you have to first be proud of yourself."

"How do I know what to call enough?" Alexander asked in a voice quiet, enough to show that her words had at least got him to begin thinking about what she had said. Tabitha smiled, and reached a hand up to touch his face. "Only you and you alone, can answer that." She paused for a moment and regarded her husband with an unreadable expression before adding, "You know we can provide protection to your family, Alex. That added with the fact no one else has to know the secret would be enough to secure their safety."

That last comment almost startled Alex; because when all the other reasons for continuing the secret life of Alexander/Racer X were striped away it all came down to the fact that he was concerned for the safety of his family. But it was a reason that Alex hadn't admitted to since he was a teenager, and had never told to anyone; because Alexander Recar didn't have a family with the exception of his wife.

But before Alex could question her; Tabitha glanced skyward for a moment before settling her gaze back on him, "I think we should probably head to bed; we have to be up early so we can fly home tomorrow. Are you going to be up for a while longer?"

Alex gave her a soft smile, knowing full well that she wasn't concerned with sleep; it was her excuse to allow him to be alone in his thoughts. She had spoken her peace and was going to leave it at that. "I don't feel like going to sleep, just yet; I'll be to bed soon." Tabitha gave him a small sweet kiss before turning to head back inside.

After hearing the door to the bedroom close, Alex turned back to the night sky; he knew his family was in rooms down the hall from his own, it would be so easy to just go down the hall to their room and reveal who he was.

Alex knew that once the initial shock had worn off, his mother and Speed would be thrilled. But the question was what would be Pops' reaction, to his revealing himself to his family. While it was true, it was safer for him now than what it was when he had left his family; he still had enemies out there that might try to take any advantage that they could to get to him.

He thought about what Tabitha had said about feeling like he was more than enough; it had been a conversation they had, had many times in the past. But for some reason, he was giving it more thought than what he normally did once it was over.

And her added comment about the safety of his family had caused him to begin weighing the Pros and Cons to the idea of returning to his family. But once again the cons were too significant to be ignored, and he knew that he had to continue the secrecy.

* * *

Note: I want to think Spice9 for the inspiration of the last name of Recar, it sounded foreign and it is Racer spelled backwards so I used it. Also thanks goes to DawningStar on her idea of after Rex left, he changed his name to Alex, I took it a step farther to him going by Alexander. Both ideas will play a larger part later on. So hit the little purple button and let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Note: even though I said I was setting it in the classic cannon; some elements of the movie and the manga were dancing in my h

_Note: even though I said I was setting it in the classic cannon; some elements of the movie and the manga were dancing in my head; so I included some of them. I decided to continue this story even though I could use some reviews. So after reading this; hit the little purple button and tell me what you think. _

_Also this chapter could be border line PG-13 due to a little insight into Rex's married life; nothing graphic. But I thought you should be warned. _

* * *

Speed lay sprawled out on top of his bed in his hotel room; a small sigh escaped his lips, as his blue eyes stared up at the white ceiling. He closed his eyes, trying to relieve some of the soreness in his body. Every last inch of his body was pounding, as if he had been hit by a speeding truck. He felt an intense sense of exhaustion, yet he wasn't tired. Far from it actually, the adrenaline rush from the race had yet to ware off leaving him feeling wired and edgy.

This race had been a hard one; too many times, he had nearly been knocked out of the race. In fact, many times if it hadn't been for Racer X, he would have been road kill. It didn't make any sense, why Racer X would help him like that. They weren't on the same team; there weren't _any_ teams in this race, in fact.

It was every man for him-self; but that hadn't stopped Racer X from taking out five different drivers, who nearly took out Speed. It was almost like Racer X was protecting him. Even after all the races he had raced with the Masked Racer, he still didn't understand the man at all.

Another thing that puzzled him was: for the past few races, Racer X seemed to have a woman with him. Speed had seen her around the hotels and the tracks, but had never gotten a good look at her. Because she would be there one minute; and the next, she had disappeared into the crowd.

Speed knew Racer X was in a room down the hall. And last night, as he and Spritle were coming back from the vending machines; they had seen a young woman with dark hair enter Racer X's room using a key.

While her and Racer X seemed to be keeping a distance from each other in public. He had seen a few stolen glances, especially tonight at the victory banquet. He had heard some of the other drivers ask about her tonight, none of them seemed to know who she is or about her connection to Racer X. She seemed almost ghostly, because no one ever seemed to remember seeing her arrive or when she left, either. She always seemed to just appear, seemingly, from nowhere.

As he often did while thinking of Racer X, Speed's thoughts shifted to his older brother. There were times when it seemed that Racer X could easily be his older brother, Rex. And other times it seemed that he was purposely on the other side of everything about racing that Rex had taught him; that Rex had believed in.

Rex had been the one to teach Speed about racing. From the time Speed was ten months old, he would watch Rex with eager fascination as the older boy would tinker with everything from his toy cars in the living room, to the go-karts that Pops had build for them, to the day Pops, Rex, and himself had rolled out the very first predecessor to the Mach 5.

As he thought about it, Speed realized how much racing and cars had always been such a big part of his life. From before Speed could talk, his mom had told him how, he use to imitate the sound of car engines; that had also come from Rex's influence. In fact, a lot of things in his life were still influenced by his missing brother.

As Speed continued his musings, the sound of Spritle shifting in his sleep, in the bed next to his, drew Speed's thoughts to his younger brother. The relationship between the Racer boys was not like that of normal brothers, as he was all too aware. Despite the expanse of years between them, the brothers had been exceptionally close to each other; even though Rex hadn't been home to know Spritle.

The relationship between Speed and Spritle strangely reflected the relationship that had existed between Rex and Speed. Sure he could get angry at his younger brother for sneaking into the trunk of the Mach 5. But in reality, most of the time; he secretly enjoyed knowing that his brother was there. And when he wasn't racing or out with Trixie, Speed could normally be found with Spritle, sitting on the couch watching TV with a bowl of popcorn between them; just like Speed and Rex did when Rex was still home.

Spritle also looked up to Speed, and in almost a frightening way acted like Speed did around Rex. The annoying little brother act was just that, an act that Spritle would go into when anyone else was around. Speed had done the same thing with Rex. It had been the brothers' way to try to make their sibling bond seem normal; to avoid the pointed looks or the comments that they were too close, that it wasn't normal for them to be each other's best friend with the large age difference that exists between the boys.

And like Rex before him, Speed took the antics of his younger sibling in stride; reacting as if he was really angry when he actually knew that it was all part of the act. The brothers seemed as though they had their own unwritten rules as to how far to take the "normal" sibling act before it got to be too much; because to others it seemed as if they just stopped the antics before it reached a certain point.

As his thoughts lingered on the similarities between his relationships with his brothers, Speed felt his eyes begin to drift close; a sign that his energy was wearing down. As he stretched out a final time, he allowed his eyes to close as he drifted into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

The next morning Tabitha was up early, as usual. Alex hid a small smile as he watched his wife, through half closed eyelids; change into some figure hugging jogging pants and a Nike shirt. Tabitha loved her early morning jogs; and if she didn't get her jog that morning, she was just not the same that day. She would be unable to concentrate the entire day and her work would not quite be up to par.

Even though they had to be at the airport by ten, to get the Shooting Star loaded on the Interpol jet to fly back to Paris that day; Tabitha was obviously determined to go for the jog this morning. And Alex had enough experience to know _never_ argue with a woman when she set her mind to something; especially, a woman that was registered as a lethal weapon in five countries.

Besides the long flight back would only provide a reason for her to go on her run this morning; the argument would be that it would help her not be so stiff when they got to Paris.

Just before Tabitha sat in the chair next to the wall to put on her shoes, she turned back to the bed. Alex quickly shut his eyes so Tabitha would think he was still asleep, and not staring admiringly at her. He felt the shift in the covers and the slight sinking of the mattress, which told him that Tabitha had sat down on the bed. A few seconds later, he felt the delicate touch of her finger very lightly running slowly up and down his bicep; followed by a soft kiss.

"You can stop pretending, I know you're awake." Came Tabitha's teasing voice. Alex opened his eyes, only to meet the exotic green gaze of his wife.

"You're not wearing your contacts this morning." It wasn't a question, but a concerned statement concerning his wife's safety; since there were plenty of people still around the area that wanted to end the treat that she served to their interests, both criminal and personal.

"I just haven't put them in yet. I was about to, before I felt someone watching me." Tabitha said. With a quick kiss, she got off the bed and moved to the vanity to put in place one of the most vital parts of her disguise.

Alex got out of the bed and moved behind Tabitha, wrapping his arms around her small waist and kissed her neck.

"If we keep this up, we'll be luck to even get to the airport on time." Tabitha said as she felt tingles go up and down her spine; knowing that if they didn't stop now, they wouldn't until it was completely finished.

For as unemotional as Alexander seemed to the rest of the world, Tabitha knew that he was actually a very passionate man; and that when that passion was aroused, he was adamant about finishing the job.

"You started it, this morning." Alexander argues as he allows Tabitha to turn to face him before he presses his lips against hers; his hands sliding down her trim, but curvy figure.

"Well we're going to have to put it on hold until we get home; I need my run and don't you have a meeting to go to." Tabitha said, imitating his tone perfectly, as they reluctantly parted. And he knew she was right; the farewell meeting for the drivers was not even an hour away.

Alex watches her as she puts on her running shoes and heads towards the door. A smile over her shoulder before she opens the door and, in her stealth manner, slips into the hallway and closes the door without making a single sound.

That was one of the many reasons why she had stood out amid all the other female Interpol agents to him; Alex mused as he began putting on his suit. Out of all of them, she was the only one who could be just as impertinent as he was. She absolutely refused to acknowledge his superior prowess; and is the only person who could actually give him a challenge.

And make him thank every divinity he knew of that they were on the same side; and actually fear for his life when they weren't. For he knew she could have easily taken him out upon first sight. She had given him several warnings and reminders that she could, during the early days of his training as a secret agent.

They had not seen eye to eye at first. In fact, they had seemingly put any excess energy they had into plans to get rid of the other. Constantly trying to go about their lives, their own way. While the chief had repeatedly reminded them that: they were to be partners; and that if they didn't grow to tolerate each other, then they were only going to get themselves killed.

Finally, their defenses began to ware themselves down. And they found that: they had to not only tolerate each other; but, more importantly, they had to trust each other. And before Alex knew it, Tabitha was not only the person he trusted most in the world; but he had found himself falling in love with her.

Which was why Alex wanted so badly for Tabitha to understand the turmoil he was dealing with as he made the decision to continue his secret life. But he doubted she would ever completely empathize.

After all, she had never really had a family of her own. From the age of fifteen, she had been a wanderer; a run away like him. But the difference was that while he did have fond memories of his childhood, she didn't.

From what little Tabitha would tell him about her childhood, she had grown up not believing in a family at all. To her, a family was only a source of hurt and heartache. That was something he had to convince her was not the case for all families when he was trying to get her to marry him. So why Tabitha had taken up the argument of returning to his family was beyond him.

But then again, Tabitha's attempts to get him to at least contact his family wasn't an entirely new development. And even though Alex wouldn't admit it, Tabitha had nearly convinced him to contact his family a few months after he had left. But, at the time, things had been too complicated. Too dangerous, really; since he had already made enemies that might go after his family in order to get to him. And that was something Alex had swore he would never let happen.

Still there was plenty of times that Alex would have liked to be able to have had his family back. Times when he would have liked to talk with Speed about a race as a brother, or a partner on a team; or help Spritle with his go-karts, while they got to know each other as brothers; or to be able to have lunch with his mother, as she had made her famous chocolate cake for dessert; or to be able to work with Pops on a design of a car, and not mind that they got into an argument over a design modification.

If he allowed himself to think about it, Alex could even imagine what a day would be like if he was able to come home: his mother's breakfast; followed by a day working with Pops in the garage; then, after work, the evenings spent just relaxing in pleasant company of the family. And for the first time in a long time it felt possible.

Shaking his head, Alex knew he shouldn't dwell on thoughts like that. For going back to his family now was an impossible dream; he had too dangerous of a life for him to make it known who he really was.

As he pulled on his boots, Alex knew he had to strengthen his resolve to continue his life as Alexander Recar; not Rex Racer. But he knew that no matter how hard he tried, the thought of returning to his family would always be there; never leaving his mind completely, only pushed aside for the moment.

Finally getting control of his thoughts, Alex made his way to the door, and like Tabitha before him, stealthly made his way out the door and down the hall.

* * *

As Tabitha left the hotel, her gaze fell on a seemingly inconspicuous gray van parked about ten yards away. Something about it caught her attention and made all her instincts go into high alert.

Kneeling down, Tabitha pretended to be adjusting her shoe; but she was actually checking her service weapon that was currently in its holding strap just above her ankle. Looking up at the back of the van, Tabitha could read the license plate number and made a mental note to run a check on it after her run.

As she began running, she never knew that inside the van was a man watching her intensely by way of small surveillance cameras installed in the side paneling of the van.

"I have her in my sights now, boss." The man said into a small radio microphone in his hand.

"_Excellent, have you seen the other one yet?"_ came the response from over the radio speaker.

"Not yet, but I expect to any minute." The man said, his eyes never leaving the screen that was showing the footage the camera was recording.

"_Good. Continue surveillance, and report back to me when you do." _

"Got it boss." With that the man put down the mike and continued watching for his target.

TBC

_I know it's a bit of a cliffhanger; but what can I say, I'm evil that way._

_Before anyone says anything about the relationship differences between the Racer brothers; I'm going to say that I got tired of Spritle always being the odd brother out, so I decided to establish things my way. _


	3. Chapter 3

_I finally got this chapter done. I hope that the others won't be so hard to write. I know it's short, but I couldn't find a better cut off point. _

* * *

An hour later, Alex made his way back to his hotel room to get his things together to prepare to leave for Paris.

When he entered the room, Alex saw Tabitha sitting at the small table with her laptop open and typing furiously. Alex notes that she had changed out of her jogging clothes and into skirt and jacket suit that reflected her cover as a socialite.

Her expression however, was far from the practiced role of a socialite. Alex knew the expression all too well. Tabitha was completely in Cat mode; which meant something had happened that had caused her agent instincts to kick in. Going up behind her, Alex reads over her shoulder; Tabitha is running a check on the ISP database on a vehicle description.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked, knowing that if Tabitha is going through the trouble of running a check on a seemingly insignificant vehicle then there was something wrong or the chief had contacted her and gave her the information on their next assignment.

"I'm not sure exactly. I saw this van in the parking lot of the hotel; and I'm not sure why, but I felt the need to have it checked out." Tabitha said, her eyes never leaving the screen. Alex noted the slight hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"I've never known you to doubt your instincts before." Alex said as he placed his hands on Tabitha's shoulders. Before he could say anything more; however, the computer beeped, signifying a video communications link was being established.

Tabitha clicked open the window, and soon the face of the chief commander of the ISP appeared on the screen.

"Racer X, Cat; I'm glad I caught the two of you before you left to return to Paris." The Chief said, and both Alex and Tabitha caught the controlled urgency in his voice.

"What have you got for us, Chief?" Alex asked as he sat in the chair beside Tabitha.

"ISP agents in Washington DC have requested your assistance on a matter they have dubbed a top priority."

"Why us? Surely the DC agents are capable of handling their own cases." Tabitha asked. Alex could note the slight hesitation in her voice.

"They say that they are in need of your expertise, as this case has developed complications; and is currently considered a matter of International security. And it is of dire importance for you to report to Washington DC as early as possible."

"We'll be there as soon as we possibly can." Tabitha responded, Alex noticed that any trace of her rolling accent was gone and was replaced with one of clipped refinement commonly used by upper-class European society that she used on a daily basis.

Tabitha could disguise herself with her voice in ways that never failed to amaze Alex. She could blend into a crowd anywhere; even copy their accent perfectly so that no one ever suspected she wasn't from their local area. While Alex could manipulate the tone and pitch of his voice, he never could manage to slip into a fake accent with the ease his wife could.

"I wish you luck and safety as you work this case." The chief said before signing off.

"Looks like we'll be going to the United States for Christmas after all." Alex said, removing his mask. Alex tried to keep his tone light as he knew Tabitha was hesitant about taking this assignment.

Washington DC was on Tabitha's list of cities she tried to avoid. The reasoning for this was one of Tabitha's closely guarded secrets that were known only to her. Alex knew that Tabitha had once lived in Washington; but the details of what had happened was not something Tabitha felt comfortable about discussing.

"If I recall correctly you're the one who didn't want to go to the United States; so you and spare me the false cheer." Tabitha said as she shut down the computer and began to get it packed up for the trip.

Once she finished that, Tabitha moved to the mirror and began to mess with her hair. Soon she had a style placed in her hair that might take other women at least an hour to do. Once she had finished it was impossible to tell exactly how long her hair was; another tactic to conceal her identity.

Alex changed into a black business suit, with a white shirt and black tie. Today he was Alex Recar, Agent 9 of the International Secret Police. As Racer X didn't have any more business left at the track.

Tabitha had already taken the Shooting Star to the airport last night, before her appearance at the victory banquet, under the cover of darkness and stored it in the ISP hanger; ready to be loaded on the jet this morning. So all they had to do was get to the airport and get the car loaded without attracting too much attention to themselves.

Before they opened the door, both Alex and Tabitha put on black sunglasses to shield their eyes. Alex also put on a fedora that also served to hide his face and hair as he still had to leave the hotel with out being recognized by his family.

* * *

At the same time, the Racer family was finishing their final packing to leave to go home. As Speed put his pajamas in his duffle bag, there was a knock at the door. Spritle opened the door, as he had finished his packing while Speed was at the meeting. It was Sparky at the door.

"I came to check if you two were ready to go yet. I think Mom and Pops have everything packed and are already downstairs loading the car." Sparky said as he shut the door and moved into the room.

Speed zipped up his bag and glanced around the room to see if anything had been forgotten.

"I'm ready as soon as everyone else is." Speed said as he picked up his duffle bag from his bed.

"I'm ready, and Spritle has been ready for the last half-hour so let's go." Speed said as he pocketed the room key so he could give it to Pops when they got downstairs. Shouldering his bag, Speed picks up his trophy that is sitting on a small table in the room he heads towards the door.

Together the three of them headed out the door and down the hall towards the elevator.

A couple that was in the lobby caught Speed's eye. As Speed watched the two move through the lobby of the hotel, something aboutthem was familiar. The way they walked, confident and determined, but completely silent; reminded him of the men in black.

Speed watched as the couple walked out the door and out to where a black, government-issue type car with black-tinted windows was parked. The trunk lid opened as they approached, probably remote wired.

The man loaded the suitcases, as the woman walked towards the passenger side door. But instead of getting in, she held a small black box in her hand and made a scanning motion with it on the car. After a few minutes, she put the box back into her pocket.

At the same time, the man closed the trunk, and walked over to the driver's side door. Pausing to glance over the roof at his partner, they opened the doors and climbed into the car, started it up, and drove away.

* * *

After the black car pulled away, the man in the gray van picked up his mike again.

"Boss, they've left the hotel. I was able to intercept a transmission from their video equipment; they are heading to Washington DC." The man said began to move towards the driver's seat.

"_Continue to follow them. Our agents in Washington will be put on alert and be prepared to make their move when they arrive in Washington." _

With that the radio went silent. The man started the van and pulled out of the parking space. Making sure he kept a safe distance, followed the black car towards the airport.

TBC


End file.
